Saturday, January 19, 2013

Oiling the Chooks, Wooden Eggs & Other Stuff

When we first received our chooks, I thought that chooks legs just looked like 'that'.  Unbeknowns to me they most likely had scaly leg mite.  I read around the net for possible solutions (tried several vets without luck), chooky blogs and the like, and some of them used stuff I wasn't at all happy to use on the girls because of what toxic stuff was used - possible pain for the chooks and what about if they ingested it?


Anyway, so we ended up going with olive oil the first few times we soaked their legs.  Today was day one of the next round of oiling.  I'll do their legs again this week and then each week for about 6 weeks.  In that time, we should see the old grumpy scales come off, new pink skin which then settles to happier looking legs and I guess, happier chooks.  Snow White seems to have the problem worse than the others, though her legs are improving a lot.




oh you're such a poser, Spots!   What, haven't mastered the art of riding all those bikes yet?  'Nah, but bikes are good for a quick bite to eat when you find a spider!'


'Hmm well if Spots is interested in something I better stick around', says Nicoal.


Bacon - tiniest of the girls but holds her own most days.


Mum/Dad found these wooden eggs and Mum bought them down when she visited last week and suggested to put in the chook nesting box.  We have a suspicion that in their free-ranging, the girls have a hidey spot for their eggs that we have not found.  Apparently (fake) eggs in the nesting box will encourage the girls to lay in the nesting box.  Theoretically! Can't hurt to try them.  Not sure if the girls are wierded out by the stripey egg or not...



Comby (Combless) having a drink from the bottom of the bathtub vege beds.  I knew they drank out of the buckets I use underneath the bathtubs to catch and recycle the water, but I didn't know they used the bottom of the bathtubs like a water dripper...


Comby on her way over to see what the fuss is about.


And the olive oil in a tub ready for next time.  Happy chooking!


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